A SNP of the COX4I2 gene associated with environmental adaptation in Chinese cattle

Abstract

COX4I2 is an isoform of cytochrome C oxidase subunit IV (COX4), which plays an important role in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. This gene affects heat production and thus affects thermoregulatory capacity in mammals. A splice region variant (rs109072064, NC_037340.1:g.61202988C > T) was identified in COX4I2 by using Ensembl, which transforms the amino acid arginine into cysteine in XP_005214921.1. In this study, we sought to determine the relationship between the mutant locus and the environment in which the cattle are located. We verified that mRNA (XM_005214864.4), which translated XP_005214921.1, is expressed in bovine muscle, fat, heart, liver, kidney, lung and testis tissues. The g.61202988C > T variant was then genotyped in 569 individuals of 34 cattle breeds. Compared with the CC genotype, southern cattle carried more the CT and TT genotypes. Furthermore, the association results carried out that the frequencies of genotypes (CC, CT, TT) and the value of climate parameters (mean annual temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) and temperature humidity index (THI)) were significantly correlated (P < 0.01). Hence, we speculated that the g.61202988C > T variant of COX4I2 gene was associated with the environmental adaptation trait in Chinese cattle and the locus may be considered as a molecular marker for Chinese cattle breeding.